Strand catcher



.Nov. 1s, 1941.

F. M, sENNA STRAND CATCHER 2 Sheets-Sheet-l Filed Nov. 23, 1940 ATTORNEY STRAND CATCHER BY a l a: a?. fk g c 1 ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 18, 1941 azsazvs l STRAND carolienv Frank M. Senna, North Dartmouth, Mass., as-

signor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application NovemberV 2s, 1940, serialNo. 366,867

5 Claims.

' parted to the cord as it passes from the let-off spool to the take-up package.

As pointed out in said patent it is desirable to prevent the cord from becoming sufficiently slack to get out of the grooves of the cord stretching rolls, since when this happens a loss of time occurs while the operator rewinds the cord. by `hand about these grooved rolls. Therefore there is disclosed in said patent, means for quickly arresting the rotation of both the letofi` spool and take-up package `when thel thread breaks or becomes too slack. Occasionally, howeverthe brake provided tostop the rotation of the let-offl spool when the cord becomes exhausted, fails to act positively enough to stop4 this `let-off spool at the Sametime the take-up package is stopped. When this happens the cord may` be supplied by the let-off spool to the stretching rolls faster than it is taken from these rolls by the take-up package, thus permittingfthe cord to become disengaged trom the Agrooves of these rolls.

"The present invention contemplates simple' means arranged to quickly stop the travel of a cord` or strand when the same becomes `abnormally slack, anda more specific embodiment of Athe invention resides in the combination of cord stretching mechanism provided `with cord stretch means located between the cord let-off and take-up package and a` cord catcher adapted `to frictionally engage the cord and arrest its travel towards the stretching means. This is readily accomplished in accordance with the present invention by mounting the strand catcher so that when a cord tensioning arm moves downwardly due to abnormal slackness in the cord, the portion of the cord adjacent this arm will be moved bythe arm into engagement with said catcher so that furthery travel of the cord will wedge it between the jaws of the catcher to arrest `its movement.

The invention Will be more fully understood Ii l) nection with the accompanying drawingswhere-4 in the strand catcher has been shown as applied to the cord stretching and winding machine of said patent. l `J In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation with parts in section of` a portion of a cord winding machine, havingy associated therewith the present strand catcher, the parts being shown in full line in the running position and in dotted lines in the `oord exhausted position.

Fig. 2 is a front elevationA of `the parts shown in Fig. 1;Yand ff o o Fig. 3 on a larger scale is a top plan view of the strand catcher. l o l To facilitate a clear understandingof the construction and'operation ofthe parts shown herein which also appear in said patent, these parts' have been designated herein by thesame reference numerals as in` said patent. Figi issubstantially `a copy of Fig; 1 of said patent insofar asthe parts illustrated herein vare* concerned, and the, part shown 'herein in dotted lines in Fig.`1`corresponds closely tothe same parts as `shown in Fig. 2 of said patent.

In describing the embodiment of the inventionx illustrated in the drawings as appliedV to a cord stretchingand winding machine, the term cord Will be used. `It will be understood, `however, that the present invention may be employed in connection with various types of thread, cord or strand winding machines vand other textile apparatus. jThe term VIstrandi has therefore been used in some of the claims to include thread, yarn,`cord or other textile `iilaments. ,v `As will be apparent from the `drawings the cordv C to be stretched and wound into a large shipping package is supplied by a spool orlet-ofi from the following description when read in conpackage I0 Which-is mounted upon an inclined spindle -I I l that` rotatably supports the package; The spindle II` is journaled in the supporting bracket or casing I2 which is shown as clamped upon the supporting rods I3 at the desiredinclination. The cord C is wound upon the cord take-up. package or cone I5 which rests upon and is rotated by thepower driven drum I9,` to thereby rotate the package I5 at a uniform speed irrespective of` its size. When it is desired to stop the rotation of` the take-up package I5 it isv lifted oi of its driving drum I9 by means not hereinshown but described in said patent.

The cord C as itis unwound'from the spool I0 passes tol the cord stretching device consisting of the tapered` grooved rolls 3| and 32which are rotatably supported for free running movement and act to permanently stretch the cord as it passes from one roll to the other along successive paths, as clearly disclosed in said patent. The cord is shown as `passing from the stretching rolls to the auxiliary driving sheave 35 and after passing nearly entirely around this sheave it runs under the guide roll 3l and then through a guide 39 to they take-up packagey l5.

It is desirable to maintain a relatively uniform tension upon the cord C as it passes from the let-off package I to the cord stretching mechanism 3l, 32. This is accomplished by providing a cord tensioning arm 48 which is pivotally secured at 49 to a iixed support and is provided at its outer end with a grooved cord re-j ceiving roller 50. The arrangement is such that the roller 50 rests in and is supported by aJ loop of the cord C as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, to thereby support the swinging arm in an ele'- vated position during normal running condition. When the cord breaks or becomes exhausted upon the spool 46 the arm 48 will move downwardly to the position in which it is shown in dotted lines in Fig. l. The movement of this arm to the dotted line position will serve through the means disclosed in said patent, to sto'p the rotation of both the let-off and take-up package.

It will be noted that the arm 48 is shown as having pivoted thereto at l an extension 52 which carries the roller 50 at its outer end. This pivoted extension while not essential helps to take up the slack of the cord C in case thel down- Ward movement of the arm 48 is arrested by the stop mechanism not herein shown. The swinging of this extension 52 downwardly towards the approximately vertical position in which it is shown in dotted lines in Fig. l is utilized in accordance with thepresent invention to move the cord into engagement with the strand catcher which will now be described. j

This strand catcher preferably comprises a pair o f slightly spaced and slightly diverging jaws 53 and 54 which flare outwardly a substantial amount at their outer ends as shown in Fig. 3. The jaws converge towards their supporting bracket 55 to thereby increase their frictional engagement or holding action l upon the cord as it is forced inwardly between them. The entire strand catcher may be readily formed of Sheet metal and may be secured to the xed rod I3 by the clamping bolt 5B. A

This strand catcher, in accordance with the present invention, is so positioned that as long as the cord C holds the arm 48 in the elevated position in which it is shown in flllines in Fig. 1 the cord will not engage the catcher, but when the cord becomes too slack, by becoming exhausted upon the supply spool for` example, so that the arm moves downward and its extension 52 swingsto the dotted line position of Fig. l, the cord will be brought into engagement with the jaws 53 and 54 of the strand catcher. That is the portion of the cord C which Iat this time the arm 48 is supported by the cord C in the elevated position it will hold the cord out of engagement with the strand catcher. But when the cord becomes so slack that it permits the arm 48, 5l] to move downwardly to the dotted line position of Fig. l, this arm movement will bring the cord into engagement with the jaws 53, 54 to be wedged therebetween so that they Will exert a frictional grip upon the cord to arrest its travel towards the stretching rolls.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a strand winding machine having strand advancing mechanism, in combination a strand is passing upwardly from the arm 48 to the cord stretching rolls will be moved by the arm inwardly between the jaws 53 and 54 soy that further upward travel of the cord C will wedge it more firmly in between the jaws as at C' to thereby arrest its upward movement before it has an opportunity to become disengaged from the grooves of the stretching rolls. n

It will be seen from the foregoing that the strand catcher remains inactive during the normal operation of the machine since as long as tensioning arm adapted to be supported in a raised position by the tension of the strand and to move downwardly when the strand breaks or becomes too slack, a strand catcher having jaws for frictionally holding the strand and positioned near the run of the strand traveling from said arm, and so arranged that when said arm drops it will position the strand so that its further travel will wedge it between said jaws to arrest its movement.

2. In a strand winding machine having strand advancing mechanism, in combination a strand tensioning arm adapted to be supported in a raised position by the tension of the strand and to move downwardly when the strand breaks or becomes too slack, a strand lcatcher having slightly spaced fixed jaws for frictionally holding the strand and positioned near the run of the strand travelling from said arm, and so arranged that when said arm drops it will position the strand so that its further travel will wedge it between said jaws to arrest its movement.

3. In a strand winding machine having strand advancing mechanism, in combination a strand tensioning arm adapted to be supported in a raised position by the tension of the strand and to move downwardly in an arc of a circle when the strand breaks or becomes too slack, a strand catcher having jaws for frictionally holding the strand and so arranged that when said arm swings downwardly it will move the strand to a position such that its further travel will wedge the strand between said jaws to arrest its movement.

4. In a cord winding machine having a cord take-up package and cord let-off package, in combination a cord tensioning arm adapted to be supported in a raised position by the tension of the cord traveling towards said take-up package and to move downwardly when the cord breaks or becomes too slack, a cord catcher having jaws for frictionally holding the oord and positioned near the run of the cord travelling from said arm, and arranged so that when said arm drops it will move the cord to a position such that its further travel will wedge the cord between said jaws to arrest its movement.

5. In a strand winding machine having strand take-up mechanism, in combination strand engaging means adapted to move vwith variations in the tension of the strand and to shift the path of strand travel with its movement, a strand catcher having a pair of cooperating jaws for frictionally holding the strand and positioned near a run of the strand, and arranged so that when the strand breaks it will be moved by said means into position so that its further travel will wedge it between said jaws to arrest its movement.

FRANK M. SENNA. 

